December 14, 2014

Newsletter midwinter 2014

As the year
draws to a close, we can conclude that 2014 has been a memorable year for
Countess. There were several new releases and re-releases and we returned to
the stage after an absence of more than sixteen years . . . in this newsletter
we’ll take a look at some key events from the past year and we’re announcing a
special midwinter sale.

MIDWINTER SALE: 15% OFF EVERYTHING

If you
place an order at our webstore
between now and December 31st, simply use midwinter as your discount code and you’ll get 15% off your entire
order!

In
November, we released ‘Sermons Of The Infidel’, a selection of 15 songs from
Countess' past. These tracks were selected by the band and all - save two live
songs - were recorded again specifically for this album. Two of these songs
have never been released on CD before.

Eight songs
were released in 2013 as a digital-only EP. Due to popular demand, we decided
to release a physical version as well. The original tracks have been remixed
and remastered and seven tracks have been added: five more new versions of
Countess classics and two live tracks.

RETURN TO THE STAGE: SUCCESFUL FESTIVAL
APPEARANCES

This year,
Countess performed live again for the first time since 1997. A new line-up was
formed early in 2014 and in the remainder of the year we did several successful
shows at a selection of festivals: ‘Veneration Of The
Dead’ in Holland, ‘Under The Black Sun’
in Germany, ‘Metal Magic’ in Denmark, ‘Witches Wrath’
in Germany and ‘Black Flames Of Blasphemy’ in Finland.

THE GOSPEL OF THE HORNED ONE: RE-RELEASE ON CD
AND LP

In October,
the legendary first Countess album was re-released by New Era Productions and Heidens Hart. The CD is almost an exact
duplicate of the original album, save for enhanced quality cover art and two bonus
tracks. The LP has been carefully optimized for vinyl format, so it sounds
fuller and better, but not drastically different. The LP also comes with two
inserts and is limited to 500 hand numbered copies.

In April,
the long-awaited new Countess album was released by Barbarian Wrath. Our fourteenth
full-length, the record features ten tracks of uncompromising metal, blending
first wave Black Metal and traditional Heavy Metal in a way only Countess can. Here’s
what some reviews had to say about the album:

“The songs remain absurdly catchy and the
tracks have an astounding amount of depth and longevity in them for
relatively simple compositions. This is the joy and the gift of Metal in the
hands of masters.” (Wonderbox
Metal)

“Real songs!!! You can tell them apart, you
feel something while listening to them and you remember you have listened to
them. That, the precious thing most musicians forgot about while trying to be
smart, that thing is here.” (Funereal
Drone)

“I personally love it. Every track on
here is amazing and this should be a modern classic. Ah, well, I'll just
spin it a few thousand times myself!” (The
Third Of The Storms)

We maintain
an official presence on several so-called social media, including Facebook, Twitter and Google+, where you can
follow us for all the latest news and updates concerning Countess. We also have
an official YouTube channel
full of exclusive videos.

Followers

Among the first Dutch black metal bands in the early nineties, Countess have always set themselves apart from other bands by a fierce loyalty to their old school influences. For two and a half decades, while fashions came and went, Countess stayed true to their vision and thus earned a worldwide cult status in the metal underground.

In spite of their sworn allegiance to metal orthodoxy, Countess have never shied from innovation. In 1994 they created the first black metal song with Dutch lyrics (Bloed In De Sneeuw) and in 1997 were among the first bands to take a rocking approach to the genre (Hell's Rock & Roll).

Over the course of 25 years and 15 full-length albums, Countess' sound has evolved from the raw black metal of the early releases towards a more traditional heavy metal-influenced style. The band's most recent offering, Fires Of Destiny in 2016, being a powerful example of a seamless integration of heavy and black metal elements.

In 2014 the band returned to the stage after a long period of not having played live. Since then, Countess have performed impressive shows at numerous prestigious metal festivals in their own country, Belgium, Germany, Denmark and Finland.

The core of Countess consists of long-time members Orlok (vocals, bass) and Zagan (guitars) who both have been involved with the project since the nineties. They were recently joined by Mortüüm (drums, 2015) and Häxa (keyboards, 2016) to complete what is probably the band's strongest formation to date.